What is the name of your state? Tennessee
I was stopped waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before making a left turn when I was hit on my right rear side bumper. There were two lanes going in the direction I was facing and one lane coming the other direction where I would have crossed. Because of this we were blocking traffic from behind(me in the left lane and she in the right lane) and also from the road that I was going to turn in to - it was raining and there was quite a bit of traffic so I pulled over into the right lane in front of the car that hit me. After the police came and he had talked with her and I was walking toward her car where she and the officer were she turned around and put her hands on her hips and said "Do you plan to pay for the damages to my car?" I said "no, you hit me from behind while I was stopped" - she replied that I had pulled out in front of her, then turned to the officer and said "file the report" I was very shocked because I assumed she had told the officer the truth about what had happened. There was no citation issued but when I was telling the officer my side, he asked me why my car was where it was - I explained why I had pulled it over. I am assuming he thought it was there because I was in that lane and in front of her car when the accident happened. Am I wrong in assuming that I can pull over after an accident where there is no personal injury in order to allow other traffic to advance? Is this a case of her word vs mine? Who will determine fault? I am concerned because in January of last year I was involved in an at-fault accident and my insurance went up -which I was expecting but now I am concerned that my insurance company will drop me even though I was not at fault. I am thinking that I will not make a claim for the damage on my car to keep from having it on my record but if the other driver is saying it was my fault could her insurance company make my insurance company pay for her damages? Sorry to be so longwinded. In hindsight I should have stayed where I was until the police arrived. The other driver may have taken advantage of the fact that I had moved my car.
Thanks for any answers you may have.
I was stopped waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before making a left turn when I was hit on my right rear side bumper. There were two lanes going in the direction I was facing and one lane coming the other direction where I would have crossed. Because of this we were blocking traffic from behind(me in the left lane and she in the right lane) and also from the road that I was going to turn in to - it was raining and there was quite a bit of traffic so I pulled over into the right lane in front of the car that hit me. After the police came and he had talked with her and I was walking toward her car where she and the officer were she turned around and put her hands on her hips and said "Do you plan to pay for the damages to my car?" I said "no, you hit me from behind while I was stopped" - she replied that I had pulled out in front of her, then turned to the officer and said "file the report" I was very shocked because I assumed she had told the officer the truth about what had happened. There was no citation issued but when I was telling the officer my side, he asked me why my car was where it was - I explained why I had pulled it over. I am assuming he thought it was there because I was in that lane and in front of her car when the accident happened. Am I wrong in assuming that I can pull over after an accident where there is no personal injury in order to allow other traffic to advance? Is this a case of her word vs mine? Who will determine fault? I am concerned because in January of last year I was involved in an at-fault accident and my insurance went up -which I was expecting but now I am concerned that my insurance company will drop me even though I was not at fault. I am thinking that I will not make a claim for the damage on my car to keep from having it on my record but if the other driver is saying it was my fault could her insurance company make my insurance company pay for her damages? Sorry to be so longwinded. In hindsight I should have stayed where I was until the police arrived. The other driver may have taken advantage of the fact that I had moved my car.
Thanks for any answers you may have.